Processing Information
Preferred Citation
Conditions Governing Access
Conditions Governing Use
Biographical / Historical Notes
Scope and Content
Separated Materials
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Arrangement
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Title: Andreas Brown Collection
Identifier/Call Number: MS 270
Contributing Institution:
San Diego History Center Document Collection
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
5.5 Linear feet
(9 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1683-1984
Language of Materials: Collection materials are in English and Spanish.
Abstract: The collection is comprised of San Diego related materials collected by Andreas Brown, a San Diego native and one-time owner
of Gotham Book Mart in New York City.
creator:
Brown, Andreas
Processing Information
Collection processed by Lauren Rasmussen on May 21, 2012.
Collection processed as part of grant project supported by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) with generous
funding from The Andrew Mellon Foundation.
Preferred Citation
Andreas Brown Collection, MS 270, San Diego History Center Document Collection, San Diego, CA.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
The San Diego History Center (SDHC) holds the copyright to any unpublished materials. SDHC Library regulations do apply.
Biographical / Historical Notes
Andreas Brown grew up in Coronado, San Diego. He graduated from Hoover High School in 1951and then earned a degree in economics
from San Diego State University. After graduating, he pursued law school at Stanford University, but quickly abandoned the
idea after a brief stint with the U.S. Army’s Judge Advocate General Corps. After returning to San Diego where he taught speech
at SDSU for 3 years, he moved to San Francisco, where he started working as an appraiser for rare books and manuscripts.
Brown frequently visited New York on business, and became a regular at Gotham Book Mart and friends with the bookstore’s owner,
Frances Steloff. Steloff later sold the store to Brown in 1967. Brown went on to run the Gotham Book Mart until it closed
in 2007. Throughout his tenure there, Brown collected a large variety of materials related to his hometown, much of which
he passed on to San Diego Historical Society.
Scope and Content
The collection consists primarily of ephemera related to San Diego history, events, people, and organizations, but also includes
original documents, including correspondence. There are maps related to specific San Diego neighborhoods, like Coronado, and
advertisements for prominent businesses. Administrative materials regarding San Diego city departments are present, as are
documents about transportation, including the San Diego Trolley and the major San Diego railways. There are also publications
and announcements of local school activities.
A large portion of the collection relates to tourist information, especially the two major exhibitions held in San Diego:
the Panama-California Exposition (1916-1916) and the California Pacific International Exposition (1935-1936). Other tourism
materials include guidebooks, travel maps, and pamphlets about local attractions, including the San Diego Zoo.
Of particular interest are original documents Brown collected, including an 1846 inventory of the San Diego Mission and a
copy of a 17th century map of California by famous map maker Alain Manesson Mallet.
Separated Materials
Map of Rancho San Vicente (1869) previously separated to Map Collection.
Items separted to the Object Collection:
Golden Hill pharmacy bottle
San Diego transit token
San Diego Exposition (1935) souvenir penny
San Diego Gas & Electric pin
San Diego Exposition (1935) pendent
San Diego Gas & Electric lighter
Point Loma lighthouse necklace
2 San Diego Gas & Electric pens
La Jolla souvenir spoon
Tijuana, Mexico souvenir spoon
“S.D.A.C.” spoon
San Diego pennant
12 souvenir matchbooks
Panama souvenir coin
2 San Diego Exposition (1935) spoons
Lindbergh commemorative coin
20 souvenir matchbooks
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Some paper documents are fragile. (May 3, 2012)
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into eight series:
Series I: San Diego City and County
Series II: Business
Series III: Transportation
Series IV: Tourism
Series V: Schools
Series VI: Organizations and Activities
Series VII: Literature, Music, and Entertainment
Series VIII: Original Documents
Items in each series are arranged by subject.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Accession numbers 840519A, 860703B, 870113A, 880329A, 900724, 910612, 971201, 980909a-h.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Alvarado, Francisco Maria
Arguello, Santiago
California Pacific International Exposition (1935-1936 : San Diego, Calif.).
Conair, Inc..
Estudillo, Jose Antonio
Harbison, J. S. (John S.)
Hotel del Coronado (Coronado, Calif.).
Jackson, Helen Hunt, 1830-1885
Jacobs-Bond, Carrie, 1862-1946
Lindbergh, Charles A. (Charles Augustus), 1902-1974
Marston's Department Store.
Martin, Fernando, Father
Panama-California Exposition (1915 : San Diego, Calif.).
Panama-California International Exposition (1916 : San Diego, Calif.).
Pumphrey, Margaret B. (Margaret Blanche), b. 1872
Remondino, Peter Charles, 1846-1926
San Diego & Arizona Eastern Railway Company.
San Diego Electric Railway.
San Diego Mission.
San Diego State College.
San Diego Trolley.
San Diego Zoo.
Sanborn, S. S.
Theosophical Society in America.
Tingley, Katherine Augusta Westcott, 1847-1929
Wright, Allen Henry
Zoological Society of San Diego.
Advertising
Associations, institutions, etc.
Balboa Park (San Diego, Calif.)
California -- Maps
Clubs
Coronado (Calif.)
Correspondence
El Cajon (Calif.)
Escondido (Calif.)
La Jolla (San Diego, Calif.)
Maps
Poetry
Point Loma (San Diego, Calif.)
Postcards
Ramona (Calif.)
San Diego (Calif.)
Sheet music
Tourism
Tourist maps